JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (October 6, 2011) – The ETSU men’s soccer team travels to Jacksonville, Fla. this weekend, as the Bucs get two opportunities for conference wins against North Florida and Jacksonville.

North Florida hosts the Bucs on Friday inside Hodges Stadium at 7 p.m., before ETSU travels across town to the Ashley Sports Complex for a S­unday afternoon matchup against Jacksonville at 2 p.m.

ETSU (6-3-1, 0-2-0 A-Sun) is still searching for its first Atlantic Sun victory of the season after two disappointing results against Belmont and Lipscomb to open conference play. Last Sunday’s home loss to Lipscomb, 2-1, snapped the Bucs’ 15-game winning streak against unranked opponents at Summers-Taylor Stadium, and was ETSU’s first loss to the Bisons since the first meeting between the two teams on October 10, 2008.

In those two games, the Buccaneers were issued a total of four red cards – three against Belmont and one against Lipscomb. Junior Alesi Osorio (Austin, Texas) was the first to be sent off following a foul in the 48th minute against the Bruins on Thursday. Belmont took advantage of the man up situation to the tune of three second half goals, and walked off with the, 3-1, victory.

When the game concluded, the Bucs had just eight players on the pitch. Junior Frank Doumbe (Silver Spring, Md.) and sophomore David Geno (Kingsport, Tenn.) were sent off with a red card in the game’s final minutes with the Bucs already trailing by two goals.

Down three starters for Sunday’s contest, the Bucs had to rely on a few new faces to step up against Lipscomb. Freshman Pedro Zaccarelli (Sao Paulo, Brazil) made his first collegiate start and redshirt freshman Nick Dykes (Nashville, Tenn.) stepped in for his second, but the revamped lineup was not enough.

Lipscomb scored first and, after an ETSU equalizer, a hand ball by sophomore Blaike Woodruff (Georgetown, Texas) simultaneously awarded LU a man-up advantage and penalty kick. The Bisons converted to take the lead and, when the game ended, the Bucs were face-to-face with their first 0-2 start in conference play since 2008.

That was last week.

This week ETSU puts all of that in the rear-view mirror, and focuses on the six potential points which victories over UNF and JU present.

Leading the conference with a GAA of 1.05, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Coulter (Dublin, Ireland) will be heavily relied upon in the Bucs’ crucial weekend. Coulter also leads the A-Sun in shutouts (6) and will look to turn his first since blanking then No.25/23 Furman back on September 25.

Geno, the team-leader with four goals, and Doumbe, the leader in assists, will be vital returners to the lineup, as their missing presence was more than felt against the Bisons. Rejoining the lineup with them will be Osorio, who has scored two goals and tallied to assists this season. The only missing part of the puzzle is Woodruff, who will be forced to sit out following his red card against Lipscomb.

North Florida (1-8-0, 0-1-0 A-Sun) looks to keep ETSU right where they are and earn its first points in the conference standings. The Ospreys join the Bucs and Stetson as the three teams which have yet to earn a point in A-Sun play.

If UNF wants to move ahead, it will have to improve on its minus 21 goal differential it has put up this year. The Ospreys have netted just three goals and have given up 24 – tied for the most goals allowed in the conference along with Lipscomb.

Jacksonville (4-5-1, 1-0-0 A-Sun) had just three wins on the year before starting conference play, but currently sit near the top of the conference following its, 2-1, win over Mercer on Sunday. The Dolphins are now 3-2-0 in their last five games, with a goal differential of zero on the year.

JU has spread out its goal scoring, as five different Dolphins have scored multiple goals this year. Stefan Durr and Nick Rodriguez sit atop their team’s goal scorers with three goals apiece, as Durr also leads the team in points with six.

The Bucs lead UNF 2-1-0 in the all-time series, while Jacksonville leads ETSU by the same record their series history. ETSU defeated both the Ospreys and the Dolphins last year when the two squads came to Summers-Taylor Stadium and lost, 1-0, each.

Live stats will be provided for Friday's match courtesy of unfospreys.com. Live video will also be available courtesy of ASun.TV.

For more information on ETSU men’s soccer please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s soccer links.